Iceland Warns Vacationers to Keep Away From Volcano Erupting With Lava and Noxious Gases

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Authorities in Iceland on Tuesday warned vacationers and different spectators to keep away from a newly erupting volcano that’s spewing lava and noxious gases from a fissure within the nation’s southwest.

The eruption began Monday afternoon after 1000’s of earthquakes within the space, meteorological authorities mentioned. This one comes 11 months after its last eruption formally ended. The eruption is in an uninhabited valley close to the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik.

The world, recognized broadly as Fagradalsfjall volcano, erupted in 2021 and 2022 with out inflicting harm or disruptions to flights, regardless of being close to Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s worldwide air site visitors hub. The airport remained open on Tuesday.

The Icelandic Meteorological Workplace mentioned the eruption was initially extra explosive than the earlier two. Aerial footage confirmed streams of orange molten lava and clouds of gases spewing from a snaking fissure about 900 meters (half a mile) lengthy.

“Fuel air pollution is excessive across the eruption and harmful,” the Met Workplace mentioned. “Vacationers are suggested to not enter the world till responders have had an opportunity to judge circumstances.”

By Tuesday morning, the fissure and the amount of the eruption had shrunk, scientists mentioned.

“This has develop into a small eruption, which is superb information,” College of Iceland geophysics professor Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson instructed nationwide broadcaster RUV.

He mentioned the eruption might “actually final a very long time, however fortunately we’re not taking a look at a continuation of what we noticed within the first few hours.”

A 2021 eruption in the identical space produced spectacular lava flows for a number of months. A whole bunch of 1000’s of individuals flocked to see the sight.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic scorching spot within the North Atlantic, averages an eruption each 4 to 5 years.

Essentially the most disruptive in latest instances was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which despatched large clouds of ash into the environment and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe. Greater than 100,000 flights had been grounded, stranding hundreds of thousands of worldwide vacationers and halting air journey for days due to issues the ash might harm jet engines.

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